Discovered at last

Clatter

Something fell to the ground; upon closer inspection, it was the tortoise Turtle Shell.

The Turtle Shell rolled on the ground before stopping, with fine cracks spreading across its surface.

The vertical eye above Qi Mingkun's brow had disappeared, leaving only a bloodstained gash.

"Master!" Qi Mingkun's disciple's face turned pale. He rushed forward and caught Qi Mingkun's body before he fell to the ground.

Brother Qi!

Bai Zongyi was at a loss, never expecting such a thing to happen.

Wang Zufeng and the others looked at each other, bewildered, not knowing what had just happened.

Qi Mingkun seemed to regain consciousness at this moment. He swayed and stood up, pushed his disciple away, and turned to stare intently at Bai Zongyi, his face covered in blood.

Who exactly is the person you want to calculate?

Bai Zongyi forced a smile and said, "He's just a Cultivator from the Floating World, Brother Qi, are you alright?"

"A serious injury? Ha, it's just the loss of one Divine Ability and a few decades of Lifespan!"

Qi Mingkun's face darkened, and he said, "See the guests out. Ling Xiang, see the guests out for me!"

Bai Zongyi was taken aback. "Brother Qi, I'm truly sorry, I..."

Qi Mingkun interrupted, "Enough talk, show them out!"

"Esteemed seniors, please!" Qi Mingkun's disciple stepped in front, gesturing for the guests to leave.

Bai Zongyi was about to say something, but Qi Mingkun didn't wait to see them off and turned to go into the Courtyard.

Bai Zongyi could only sigh and, guided by Qi Mingkun's apprentice, left the Mountain.

Chen Shiwei and the others had grim faces. They had come here at a great cost. Not to mention the Teleportation Array, the things they had given to Qi Mingkun were all collected by everyone.

And now they've been kicked out without receiving any information.

Qi Mingkun was Elder of the Four Symbols Sect, and this place was within the territory of the Four Symbols Sect. They dared not speak out against him, so they naturally transferred their dissatisfaction to Bai Zongyi, who was in charge.

"Brother Bai, we've come from afar, bringing Spirit Vein and Law Treasure, and now we're being kicked out like this without any explanation?" Wang Zufeng said with a gloomy expression.

Everyone else looked at Bai Zongyi as well.

Bai Zongyi said with a somewhat grim expression, "Didn't you all see what happened just now? Elder Qi was seriously injured because of our affair, his Heavenly Eye was broken, and his tortoise shell was destroyed. What else can we say?"

The Tong Family patriarch muttered, "He should only take on tasks that match his abilities; otherwise, how will anyone know if he's faking it?"

The others remained silent, clearly dissatisfied with the outcome.

Bai Zongyi snorted coldly, "Do you all feel that you've been tricked by me?"

The Tong Family patriarch's expression changed slightly, and he said awkwardly, "Brother Bai, we certainly trust you. In the face of the World Conflict, we are all in the same boat. I did misspoke just now, but it's only because in the current situation, every bit of resource is extremely important."

Wang Zufeng said, "Alright, we did gain something just now. At least we know that Gu Yuanqing follows the Path of Incense and Fire. No wonder his cultivation has progressed so quickly. If he's on this path, it's not surprising..."

"Master, are you alright?" The disciple asked with concern as he returned to the Mountain after seeing off the guests.

Qi Mingkun's face was slightly pale. He played with the cracked tortoise Turtle Shell, shook his head with a wry smile, and said, "It's alright, but this treasure is mostly ruined. But it's good, I should use this Spell Art less often in the future. Today's loss has served as a wake-up call, otherwise I might unknowingly provoke powerful enemies."

He couldn't help but ask, "Master, according to what Senior Bai said, this person is just a person from the Floating World. How could he be so powerful that he could break Master Spell Art?"

Qi Mingkun said calmly, "The leap from the Floating World to the Exquisite World has happened since ancient times. Without great Creation, how could one stand out from the Floating World and qualify for the World Conflict? Even my Four Symbols World, countless years ago, also came from the Floating World. If it weren't for our Sect's predecessors seizing the fortuitous opportunity and forming a bond with the bloodlines of the Four Sacred Beasts, our Four Symbols Sect wouldn't be where it is today."

With that one strike, Gu Yuanqing felt the aura that had been spying on him vanish completely.

Gu Yuanqing intended to use the power of North Spring Mountain to look at the source of the power he had just witnessed, but he could only sense that the power had crossed over from the Underworld.

"I wonder what happened with that last stab!"

Gu Yuanqing withdrew his gaze and focused on the Incense and Fire Qi outside the mountain.

"While it's not particularly useful for cultivation, it does have its merits in defending against enemies."

Each Incense and Fire Qi represents the purest and most sincere faith; when gathered together, it possesses various miraculous effects.

For example, that slash just now seemed to transcend space, following the Karma and effect, and directly struck the enemy's Divine Sense. This kind of Spell Art was not found in any of the other Cultivation Method Gu Yuanqing practiced.

"When I have some free time, I can think about it."

Of course, for Gu Yuanqing, that was all. He could clearly see which was more important, these Spell Art or his cultivation.

"But who on earth suddenly attacked me? Judging from the aura of the Underworld, it doesn't seem to come from the Demon Realm. It's more like the method of the Exquisite World. Could it be the Sanyang Sect?"

This aura was only briefly encountered this time, and felt quite unfamiliar, so I had no choice but to set it aside.

Thinking of the Demon Realm, Gu Yuanqing couldn't help but glance at the Demon Realm.

In recent days, he has occasionally seen Devil Beast rushing into the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains. These Devil Beast are fierce and bloodthirsty, and each time they cause some trouble.

At this time, the Underground Cave was suppressed by several Great Demon working together. In terms of the strength of the suppression, they were far stronger than the Human Race had been back then.

However, the nature of Demon Race is different from that of Human Race. Even Heavenly Human Great Demon are scattered in nature. They might be thinking about how to guard the area one moment and then fall fast asleep the next.

This has led to a situation where, although no powerful Heavenly Human Realm Devil Beast have broken out of the Underground Cave, it is not uncommon for ordinary Devil Beast to sneak out.

To these Demon Race, what escaped were nothing more than tiny insects that could be crushed at will, posing no real threat.

As for deaths and injuries, what day doesn't that happen in the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains?

On this day, Motion and Stillness arose again within the Floating World. Gu Yuanqing followed the Motion and Stillness and realized that Li Chengyi had broken through to the Divine State Triple. At this point, there were only a handful of people whose cultivation was still higher than his.

Gu Yuanqing gave Li Chengyi all the Law Treasure he had, such as the Hun Tian Rope and the Heaven Gate Token. These things were of little use to him at this point. Only the Sky Burning Tower, which he used to imprison prisoners, was still in his possession.

Over the past few months, Li Chengyi's demeanor has become more reserved and composed.

His comprehension was extraordinary. After several months, he had gained some understanding of the ways of Cultivation World and applied it to his own practice.

Gu Yuanqing smiled gently at Li Chengyi. Li Chengyi learned that he needed to reach the level of Celestial Person Being to see his mother, and his motivation for cultivation seemed to have increased considerably.

For the past few months, Li Chengyi has spent most of his time in North Spring Mountain.

He delegated many of the affairs of the Great Qian Dynasty to the Crown Prince.

In the past few months, another thing has happened: Gu Siyuan's Child, named by Gu Yuanqing, has been born.

As before, three months after birth, Gu Yuanqing would cleanse his marrow and meridians. Gu Yuanqing was naturally not stingy with his own offspring, providing them with only Spirit Spring Foundation Water.

The Spirit Spring was now far more effective than before, and with the Transformation of the Spirit Mountain, it was more miraculous than any Spirit Elixir in the world.

This period was also the happiest time for the Little Fox. He followed Li Chengyi every day, and even just watching him from afar made him feel happy.

About a month later, Gu Yuanqing entered the Ancient Realm again.

He tried his best to avoid everyone's gaze and not let his fishing attract anyone's attention.

Dao Soul below the Profound Tier are fine; as long as they move quickly, they won't attract anyone's attention.

Dao Soul above the Profound Tier are different; even Profound Tier Soul can cause fluctuations in the Boundless River.

Once one reaches the Profound Mechanism Ultimate, it becomes almost impossible to avoid the senses of Cultivator within a three-hundred-mile radius.

Even if Gu Yuanqing is extremely careful, some signs are bound to appear.

The Boundless River Dao Soul is extremely difficult to catch. In the past, it would take a long time to catch Dao Soul of the Profound Tier or above, but in recent months, someone has been catching one almost every few days.

Such an event wouldn't attract much attention if it happened in the area occupied by the Illusionary Spirit Sect, since there are many experts there, and the Celestial Person fishing is naturally incomparable to that of the Void Heaven Cultivator.

The Illusionary Spirit Sect controls this place, and naturally has its own unique methods for fishing for Dao Soul. The success rate of the Illusionary Spirit Sect disciples in fishing for Dao Soul is far higher than that of others.

In the downstream areas, where most of the people are Rogue Cultivator, such things are quite rare.

At first, it was fine, since Gu Yuanqing was very quick and only a few people noticed it.

But as time went by, more and more people noticed this.

It's unclear who started this speculation.

"Fellow Daoist Friend, have you heard that the Great Cataclysm of the Boundless River is approaching?"

What kind of great fortune?

"You don't know this? Every few hundred years, there's a period in the Boundless River when it's easier to retrieve Dao Soul. And you can catch many Dao Soul that were previously difficult to catch. It's said that five hundred years ago, someone caught Heaven Tier Dao Soul in the river, but unfortunately, they couldn't subdue it."

"No wonder I've noticed more and more people coming here to fish lately, now I understand."

"Indeed, even many disciples from the top-ranked Sect in the Exquisite World Ranking have come."

"I was just saying that more and more people are activating their Profound Tier Dao Soul lately; I've heard of three such cases in the last two days."

There was much discussion, and some people inquired around, and it seemed to be true; quite a few people had caught something good.

He quickly started calling on his friends and family, and within a few days, the number of people fishing by the Boundless River seemed to have doubled.

Upon hearing of this, many Cultivator were seeking fortuitous opportunity rushed over.

It was initially just speculation, but as more and more people came, more and more Cultivator began to believe it.

With more Cultivator, the number of Dao Soul caught naturally increased, and what was originally just a rumor seemed to have become a real event.

But this is not a good thing for Gu Yuanqing; with more people around, it becomes even more difficult for him to avoid being watched.

Moreover, he discovered that someone seemed to be watching him.

Having finally found a secluded spot, less than half an hour later, a gaze fell upon him again.

Gu Yuanqing once again felt what it meant to be unable to stay still despite the turmoil.

No matter how careful you are, it's still difficult to completely avoid it.

"You've been following me for quite some time now, acting all sneaky. Why don't you come out and show yourself?" Gu Yuanqing said calmly.

Three Hundred Zhang away, a figure emerged from the Void; it was a young man who looked to be in his early twenties.

"Daoist Friend's perception is extraordinary. I consider myself to have some skill in Breath-Concealing Art, yet I was detected before I even got Three Hundred Zhang away."

Gu Yuanqing turned his head and glanced at him, his gaze slightly narrowed, and asked, "A disciple of the Illusionary Spirit Sect?"

The young man smiled and said, "Indeed, Yi Yunbo, a disciple of the Illusionary Spirit Sect, greets Daoist Friend."

He actually knew my surname?

Gu Yuanqing stopped fishing, turned around, and said calmly, "It seems I have never had any dealings with the Illusionary Spirit Sect. May I ask what brings you here?"

Yi Yunbo chuckled, "Our Illusionary Spirit Sect is stationed here at the Boundless River, so we are able to gather information that ordinary people cannot obtain."

Gu Yuanqing said calmly, "Oh? Just say what you have to say."

Yi Yunbo smiled and said, "It's nothing, I'm just a little curious and impressed by your skill in fishing for Daoist Friend Dao Soul. I Daoist Friend would be interested in joining my Illusionary Spirit Sect as Outer Sect Attendant? I can recommend you."

Gu Yuanqing smiled and asked, "What's the price? As the second largest sect in the Illusionary Spirit Sect Exquisite World, how many Cultivator have tried to enter the Sect but failed? Even Void Heaven Cultivator are not lacking in the Illusionary Spirit Sect, are they?"

"I am indeed quite interested in your method of condensing Daoist Friend Dao Bait."

Gu Yuanqing shook his head and smiled, "The Illusionary Spirit Sect's technique for refining Dao Bait is unparalleled in the world, so why bother coming to cause me trouble?"

Yi Yunbo also sighed, "But not everyone has the fortuitous opportunity to learn certain things. I hope you will carefully consider this opportunity, Daoist Friend. With the protection of my Illusionary Spirit Sect, you need not worry about the Sanyang Sect making things difficult for you."

Upon hearing this, Gu Yuanqing could guess that Yi Yunbo knew more than he had imagined.

But it wasn't too surprising. There were always clues to be found, especially for the Illusionary Spirit Sect, which had been stationed on the Boundless River for who knows how long. There weren't many people who could catch high-grade Dao Soul, so it was easy for them to make connections to certain things.

Gu Yuanqing seemed somewhat disappointed, saying, "I'd heard before that the Cultivator of the Illusionary Spirit Sect were unruly, but I didn't expect them to be so much like the Sanyang Sect."

Yi Yunbo chuckled, "Daoist Friend, there's no need for veiled sarcasm. We Cultivator act entirely according to our conscience. I'll borrow Daoist Friend method, Daoist Friend enter my Illusory Spirit, thus eliminating any fear of your demise. It's a win-win situation, so why not?"

Gu Yuanqing was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, then nodded. "If that's the case, then that's indeed the case."

Yi Yunbo asked, "What does Fellow Daoist Friend think?"

"But I refused."

Yi Yunbo was taken aback and asked, "Why?"

Gu Yuanqing laughed, "Didn't Daoist Friend say that Cultivator should follow their own will in their cultivation? I feel that doing this will disrupt my Dao Heart, so I won't do it this way. Is this reason acceptable to Daoist Friend?"

Upon hearing this, Yi Yunbo nodded seriously. "That's true. Fellow Daoist Friend show that you are indeed destined to be with my Illusionary Spirit Sect. Only by being free from external distractions can one cultivate the fundamental techniques of my Illusionary Spirit Sect."

"So, what are your plans?"

Yi Yunbo suddenly burst into laughter. "It's not that I'm planning what to do, but rather that you should think about how to face the Sanyang Sect and the Four Symbols Sect. Some things simply cannot be hidden forever."

I went back to my hometown for National Day, and the environment wasn't ideal for writing, so... Daoist Friend ~